In this month’s Paydirt, Magnetite Mines CEO Tim Dobson discusses recent advancements at Razorback and the South Australian Government’s commitment towards establishing a green iron and steelmaking industry.

Magnetite Mines plans to propose a collaboration with the State Government on the construction of a low carbon direct reduction iron (DRI) plant when an applications process for expressions of interest starts in June. Chief executive Tim Dobson pointed to Razorback’s substantial magnetite mineral endowment as a key strength of the company’s planned pitch.

“There is no DRI plant without a magnetite source, so we see ourselves potentially as a key contributor,” Dobson said. “I have been identifying and building relationships with the key industrial partners required to build a green iron hub based around a DRI plant, a pellet plant and a hydrogen plant at Port Pirie to create this hub. On the back of this call for expressions of interest, we intend to pull together these partners and present a cohesive package of interest to government.”

Dobson said establishing a green steelmaking industry would not only require public and private collaboration but also international cooperation. He envisaged a low carbon steelmaking solution which involved iron oxide refineries in locations – like South Australia – with high-grade magnetite iron ore resources as well as access to hydrogen for DRI plants like the one the SA State Government intends to build.

“The biggest single carbon emitter in the steel industry is metallurgical coal-fired smelters and the steel industry produces 8% of global carbon emissions,” he said.

“We can massively diminish this carbon footprint with hydrogen powered steelmaking – the missing link is the high-grade magnetite iron ore.”

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